


The Misadventures (or Misunderstandings) of an Unrequited Love

by alfing



Category: One Piece
Genre: Cheesy Romances, Crack?, Friendzone, Humor, Luffy is Confused, M/M, Out of Character?, Temporarily Unrequited Love, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, poor law
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 13:16:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10514508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alfing/pseuds/alfing
Summary: Think cheesy high school romances but not.





	

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: all stories mentioned in this fic are all made up by me

**Chapter One: FRIENDZONE**

 

Humans lie. It’s only natural that we do. There are those who are good at it, and there are those who aren’t. There are those who lie to protect others, and then there are those who lie to harm. In Law’s case, he was lying to protect himself.

Lying was a cushion. It softened the excruciating pains he’d feel in his chest. That and taking out his heart would help occasionally. But while it was a cushion, it was also a double edged sword. He’d tell a lie and the pain would only increase. A fake smile would hurt his face. Then again, he didn’t smile very often.

Surprisingly, it was Bepo that was the first to notice.

The polar bear had noticed how Law seemed more tired than usual. Some mornings, when his captain emerged from his room, the bags under his eyes would appear darker and tinged with red marks, as though he had been crying. That was when Bepo knew something was wrong. He had  _ never  _ seen Law cry before. The only question was ‘why’?

Now, he couldn’t just up and  _ ask _ his captain. Not if he still wanted to be in one piece at the end of the day. Subtlety was key. And by subtlety, he means to somehow trick Penguin and Shachi into asking for him. It was a lot easier than he had expected. Both Penguin and Shachi were concerned about Law as well and didn’t hesitate to ask what was bothering him. To his amazement, Law  _ didn’t  _ cut them up into tiny microscopic pieces (because their captain was weird that way) and instead sighed and looked off into the distance dramatically.

Law was  _ brooding _ .

Could it be their captain.....

“Is in love?” Shachi exclaimed aloud.

The surgeon turned his head so fast that he could have gotten whiplash. “ _ What was that _ ?” he inquired, the very phrase sounding like a threat. Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi paled and put distance between their captain and themselves. So it was obvious that Law was in love with someone. But were they going to ask whom? Not in a million years.

 

The Straw Hats decided to visit again. Unannounced, as per usual. The Heart Pirates were forced to come aboard the Thousand Sunny for a party declared by Straw Hat. The two crews celebrated boisterously. Food was flung and utensils tossed. Chopper may or may not have been thrown into the air a couple of times. But of course, there was one who did not partake in the partying, preferring instead to distance himself from the rest. Law sat alone in the library, his  _ Kikoku _ resting beside him. From time to time, he had peeked outside to check on his crew and caught glimpses of Luffy’s smiling face.

He would never admit it but his heart definitely skipped a beat every time that happened.

But now, Law waited patiently for the noise to quiet so he could round up his crew and bid their allies goodbye. Though his heart was loath to leave, his mind said otherwise. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes. Oddly enough, he could fall asleep to the cacophony that emitted from outside, his consciousness slipping. As he dozed, the door to the library opened and a pair of sandal-clad feet tiptoed across the wooden floor. Soon, Law was tackled to the ground by a lump of rubber.

“ _ Torao _ !” cried Luffy. “What are you doing all by yourself? Come on and have fun!”

“ _ Mugiwara _ -ya, please let go of me,” he grumbled in annoyance, ignoring the pounding of his heart that sounded in his ears. “I’m having enough fun on my own and away from the rest of you.”

“Aw, don’t be a buzzkill. We’re all friends right?”

That word again.  _ Friends _ . It felt as though he was being friendzoned for the zillionth time. Law sighed. “We’re not friends. We’re allies.”

“Pot _ ay _ to pot _ ah _ to,” Luffy dismissed, attempting to drag the surgeon out the door. Law rolled his eyes at his antics, not bothering to put up a fight. Although he doubted that Straw Hat would ever return his feelings, perhaps being more than just allies could cure his heartache.

 

**Chapter Two: MISUNDERSTANDING**

 

The Straw Hats were intent on following them around for the next couple of weeks. The Heart Pirates had no qualms about letting them do so, actually enjoying their company instead. Well, all but the captain of course, who continued to lock himself in his room like an overly dramatic teenager. Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin showed the most concern for Law, often throwing worried glances whenever they passed by his door. But for fear of their lives, they never tried to confront the matter with the surgeon himself.

“He can’t live like this,” Penguin noted one day as he and Shachi were forced to clean the deck. “Moping around like a baby isn’t going to do anything.”

“ _ Shhhhh _ , he might hear you,” the other whispered hurriedly, looking around for signs of their captain. “But you’re right, it hurts me seeing him this way.”

“We have to do something,” Bepo jumped in, assuming a determined stance. “We could give him some relationship advice!”

“And be decapitated in the process? I think I’ll pass,” Penguin rejected immediately.

“We don’t have to do it by talking to him. Maybe we could leave books or magazines in front of his door and he can read them himself!” the polar bear continued.

“I doubt the captain would actually read those kinds of things, but it’s worth a shot,” Shachi considered. “But do we even have books like that?”

“We could ask Straw Hat if we could borrow something from the library,” Bepo suggested. “And I have a couple of magazines that might work.”

Penguin and Shachi gave him a thumbs up. “Alright, then we’ll leave it up to you!”

 

After collecting a good pile of romance novels and a few issues of  _ Words of Wisdom for a Maiden in Love _ , Bepo left them in front of his captain’s room, knocked a few times on his door, and then retreated around the corner. Penguin and Shachi also hid behind the wall to see Law’s reaction to the collection of girlish volumes, worried that they may have only succeeded in angering the surgeon. The door opened and Law emerged from his room for the first time in days. His foot hit the side of one of the books and he looked down slowly, expression hidden by the shadow of his hat. There was a long moment of silence.

“He’s mad, he’s definitely mad,” Shachi whispered nervously, causing Penguin to hit him upside the head to shush him. But Bepo hadn’t lost hope yet.

Slowly, Law bent down to inspect the pile a bit more closely. He picked up one of the novels, a steamy romance labeled  _ An Unforgettable Night of Passion XXX _ . “Why did you give him  _ that  _ book, Bepo?” Shachi almost screeched, hands clutching at his head. “He’s going to kill us!”

“ _ Shut up _ , Shachi,” Penguin hissed, continuing to peer around the corner. To everyone’s surprise, Law continued to pick up the rest of the books, stacking them neatly so that it was easier for him to carry, and brought them into his room, closing and locking the door behind him.

“Ah. He took them.”

 

Over the next few days, Law had actually came out of his room from time to time to interact with the crew and even greeted the Straw Hats occasionally. He seemed to be returning to his usual self. “I can’t believe your plan actually worked, Bepo,” Penguin commented as they ate their lunch on the deck.

“Of course it did! Those books were the real deal. If the captain was dealing with a problem of love, those would have surely helped him a lot,” the polar bear expressed confidently. Penguin finished his meal and picked up the extra plate left for Law. “Yeah, I’m sure they did,” he responded doubtfully before leaving to deliver the meal to their captain. The door to the surgeon’s room was surprisingly open so Penguin let himself in without any warning.

The books that Bepo had collected were scattered all over the place, some opened to some page marked with a colored sticky note. He could see that some sections were circled in pencil with notes written off to the side. A bulletin hung on the wall with a detailed diagram analyzing the plots from several books pinned to it. Penguin looked up to see Law at his desk, concentrated on annotating another one of those cheesy romance novels. He hadn’t expected him to take this as seriously as he was.

“Uh... captain?” he began slowly, reluctant to disturb the surgeon. “I’ve got your lunch here.”

Law quickly closed the book he was reading and threw a sheet over the volumes scattered on the ground. He took the plate from Penguin and gave him a dirty look. “You didn’t see anything,” he threatened before ushering him out the door and slamming it behind him.

 

The reason Law was so engrossed in these corny novels was simple: he needed the information. Sure, those stories were not reliable in the least, but they provided decent facts that could help him organize his emotions. This one story in particular,  _ A Misunderstanding of the Heart _ , portrayed his situation almost perfectly. But the heroine of the book ended up having her feelings returned after she had plainly explained it to her love interest.

He marked that tactic as Plan L.

Now the eleven other plans he had come up with were much more detailed, ranging from subtle hints to his feelings to bold acts of wooing. Though he was unsure about several of his ideas and reconsidered, the number decreasing to three. Law was confident that he could get his feelings across to Straw Hat thanks to his extensive research.

That day, he boarded the Sunny.

Luffy was playing in the yard when the surgeon had ‘shambled’ himself to the deck. Upon his arrival, the rubber-man shouted a greeting and proceeded to aggressively hug him. “Hey,  _ Torao _ , you finally decided to visit!” he exclaimed. “Come play catch with us. We found this cool jellyfish that’s shaped like a ball, but the trick is to catch it so you won’t get stung.”

“Oh boy, I’m trembling with excitement,” Law replied sarcastically, voice monotone. “ _ Mugiwara _ -ya, I actually came to give you this.” He procured a bouquet of meat from behind his back, presenting it to the younger pirate with a blush gracing his features. Luffy’s eyes widened and mouth watered. “ _ Meat flowers? _ ” he quickly grabbed the bundle of meat and stuffed it in his face. “Thanks,  _ Torao _ ! You’re a great friend!”

The surgeon’s eyebrow twitched at the sound of that word. He needed to try harder. Luckily, Law had came prepared for a situation like this and pulled a small lunch box from his pocket. He had hoped that he wouldn’t have to come to this, actually quite embarrassed about what he was about to do, but he had no other options. “This is also for you,” he stated, handing the box to him. Luffy, whose face was still full of meat, took the lunch box and opened it. Underneath the lid, a meal was prepared with different foods shaped in hearts and the seaweed spelled out “Love”.

The surgeon waited for his reaction expectantly. “ _ Torao _ , you...” Luffy stared seriously at the

lunch box for a moment before looking back at Law. “You know how to cook?”

Disappointment would be an understatement compared to how Law really felt. Taking a deep breath, he finally resorted to Plan C (formerly Plan L). “ _ Mugiwara _ -ya, I... I like you!” he confessed, blush deepening.

He finally said it. He said how he felt. Law kept his gaze directed on the ground, afraid of what was to come. “I like you, too,  _ Torao _ ,” Luffy said, beaming. The surgeon looked up quickly, eyes wide. “R-really? You do?”

“Of course! We’re friends, right? It’s only natural that we like each other,” the rubber-man declared.

“That’s not what I meant!” Law finally lost control of his emotions, tired of trying to get it through the younger pirate’s rubber skull. “I’m  _ in love  _ with you, you idiot!”

Luffy looked at him in surprise. “So what you’re saying is...” his expression slowly returned to its usual smile. “You want to get married?”

“What? No, that’s not the same-”

“Hey, everyone we’re getting married!”

“Wait,  _ Mugiwara _ -ya, I didn’t say-”

“Finally!” exclaimed Nami from her room. “Took you two long enough! The sexual tension was killing me!”

Law gave a defeated sigh, no longer able to protest. But he was glad. He had received a happy ending just like the heroin in  _ A Misunderstanding of the Heart _ . Luffy snaked an arm around his waist and pulled him next to him, smashing their faces together.

“ _ Shishishi _ , I forgot to say that I love  _ Torao _ , too!”

end.


End file.
